Atomic Design

Brad Frost

Style tiles (along with their in-browser counterparts, style prototypes) allow designers to explore color, typography, texture, icons, and other aspects of design atmosphere without making assumptions about layout or worrying about polish. They can be designed much faster because they’re not encumbered by the expectations of high-fidelity comps, which means feedback and discussion can happen sooner. Style tiles facilitate conversation to uncover what stakeholders value and what they don’t. “Does this style tile resonate better with you rather than this one? Why?”“Why does this color palette not sit well with you?”“What is it about this typeface you like?”You can have important conversations about aesthetic design without having to create full comps. Crucially, style tiles also reinforce pattern-based thinking by educating stakeholders about design systems rather than pages. Presenting color swatches, type examples, and textures exposes stakeholders to the ingredients that will underpin any implementation of the design system.